Seeing that the strange stone had been swallowed by the Nine-Dragon Thunderflame, causing the Heavenly Flame to become violent, Xue Hai seized the opportunity to attack, intending to kill Tang Renjie and re-establish the Soul Hall's fearsome reputation.
Upon seeing this, Han Zichuan stepped forward to assist Burning Flame Valley, hoping to persuade the Soul Hall members to retreat.
After hearing Han Zichuan's words, Xue Hai's gaze swept over him, then over the group behind him, noting that there was only one Dou Venerate present.
He couldn't help but mockingly say:
"Are you relying on these ants who haven't even reached the Dou Venerate realm? Even if they attacked together, what do I have to fear? Han Zichuan, Tang Renjie, today, I will turn Burning Flame Valley's joyous occasion into a funeral. I will make Burning Flame Valley a sea of blood and spread the fame of my Soul Hall."
His overbearing and cold words clearly reached everyone on the scene, sending a chill down their spines.
Some people even unconsciously felt resentment towards Burning Flame Valley, wondering why they had been invited.
Such is the way of the world; there are always those who, having been angered by the strong, vent their anger on the weaker.
Upon hearing this, Han Zichuan sighed slightly. Seeing that Tang Renjie's situation was not optimistic, he made arrangements:
"Since that's the case, then let's fight. I want to see if calling you Xue Hai makes you truly believe you are one. Brother Huang, go help Valley Master Tang. Just keep any one of them occupied for him."
Saying this, he himself approached Xue Hai and the other person, leaving the remaining Dou Venerates to help Tang Renjie.
"Oh ho, Han Zichuan, you really know how to pick your opponents! Heavenly Venerate, you hold the line for me; you don't need to lift a finger against them. I want to see how he dares."
Xue Hai was quite surprised to see that Han Zichuan actually intended to face both him and Heavenly Venerate Gu You together, seemingly unable to understand how he dared to attack Gu You.
But he only paused for a moment before finding it amusing. He then sneered, and respectfully bowed to Gu You, not letting him make a move.
Gu You nodded faintly. He hadn't come for these youngsters; his opponent was someone else entirely.
And upon seeing Xue Hai's respectful demeanor towards Gu You, Han Zichuan's expression also changed slightly. That person who had previously seemed to have no presence was likely stronger than any of them.
His heart sank. This time, he might very well be left here.
But there was no turning back now; they could only fight.
The few of them each chose their opponents and engaged in battle.
Time passed, and the battles in several areas remained undecided.
Everyone present held their breath, anticipating the outcome of the fights.
Except for Zhao Li, who had been observing the Nine-Dragon Thunderflame.
Suddenly, the giant thunder-fire dragon circling in the air lunged towards Tang Renjie, attempting to swallow him.
Tang Renjie naturally noticed the approaching Heavenly Flame, but in order to resist it, he still took a palm strike from a Soul Hall Dou Venerate, spitting out a mouthful of fresh blood.
His heart sank slightly. The situation was not good; he feared Burning Flame Valley was in for a disaster.
Seeing the Nine-Dragon Thunderflame eyeing him menacingly, the two Dou Venerates attacking him again, and even an unknown entity lurking nearby to hold the line, Tang Renjie could only hope his father successfully broke through and came out of seclusion. Otherwise, Burning Flame Valley would not escape this calamity.
He forced a breath and prepared to continue entangled with the two.
However, the Nine-Dragon Thunderflame once again pounced towards him.
"You beast! Alas, I was too arrogant and underestimated such a wonder of heaven and earth."
Seeing this, he cursed inwardly.
But he absolutely did not dare to leave the Heavenly Flame unattended. Just as he was about to resist, he saw Zhang Li walking towards the Nine-Dragon Thunderflame. His heart was slightly startled, but he didn't say anything more, focusing on dealing with the two Dou Venerates.
He didn't believe anyone would be so ignorant of their own strength as to come courting death after seeing the power of the Heavenly Flame.
Since Zhang Li was making a move, he must have some skill.
Zhao Li, however, sensed that the Heavenly Flame was instinctively falling into a frenzy, seemingly related to the strange stone. He wanted to investigate, so he took this opportunity to directly confront the giant thunder-fire dragon and stop it.
Facing the silver-white fire dragon, a faint dragon might gathered, seemingly no different from a true dragon.
Its attack was blocked by Zhao Li, and it let out a roar. Zhao Li felt a slight pressure on his soul.
He had observed this Heavenly Flame for a long time before, and combined with his knowledge from books, he had some understanding of it.
Zhao Li vaguely sensed the fused thunder and fire Rules within the Heavenly Flame. He had some guesses about why Heavenly Flames became the supreme among all fires.
It was likely because the Heavenly Flame contained more than one type of Rule power, and they were perfectly integrated.
Seeing it riot again and attack him, Zhao Li became entangled with it, carefully experiencing the secrets of the Heavenly Flame.
Zhao Li's sudden move greatly surprised everyone on both sides.
Especially Xuan Xueling and the other person.
A person's energy is limited. They had thought that Zhao Li's Seventh Grade Alchemy Technique was already a sign of exceptional talent, but they hadn't expected his Dou Qi cultivation to be so powerful as well.
Many people even speculated that Zhao Li must be an old monster with a Face-Preserving Technique. If he was truly that young, they felt they had truly lived their lives in vain.
Han Zichuan was equally surprised. Through their interactions over the past two days, he could feel from Zhao Li's occasional naive ideas that he was indeed not old, definitely not an old monster.
But he quickly suppressed his surprise and couldn't help but feel happy.
No matter what, Zhao Li had said he intended to go to the Pill Tower to study.
Thinking of Zhao Li's terrifying talent, he might even receive some rewards for discovering talent.
While the Burning Flame Valley side was happy, Xue Hai's face was gloomy.
Zhao Li's appearance had, for a time, directly affected the course of the battle.
Zhao Li only needed to hold off the Heavenly Flame, and Tang Renjie would quickly take down the other two. Once Tang Renjie was free, Xue Hai wouldn't gain any advantage either.
Seeing this, Xue Hai understood that staying longer would likely still be fruitless.
Although he had largely achieved his goal, the Soul Hall's low profile over the years had led many forces to harbor other intentions. His trip was meant to kill a chicken to scare the monkeys.
Thinking of this, he forced Han Zichuan back with a palm strike, retreated behind Gu You, and said in a low voice:
"The situation has changed. Heavenly Venerate, please make your move, take down Tang Renjie, subdue the Heavenly Flame, and spread the fame of my Soul Hall."
Gu You nodded, his body shifted slightly, and he was already behind Tang Renjie, striking towards his back.
Tang Renjie's hair stood on end, but he had no time for extra movements and took Gu You's palm strike head-on.
With just one blow, he was severely injured.
Gu You's attack was effective with a single move. He turned his gaze towards the Nine-Dragon Thunderflame and Zhao Li, who was entangled with the Heavenly Flame.
His eyes darkened slightly. A person with such talent, if left in the Pill Tower, could very well become a disaster.
Killing intent surged in his heart, and he was about to kill Zhao Li on the spot.
Seeing this, Han Zichuan shouted loudly:
"Openly attacking someone from my Pill Tower, is the Soul Hall formally declaring war on my Pill Tower?"
Gu You's eyes flickered. Thinking of the Hall Master's instructions to avoid the Pill Tower as much as possible this time, he held back some of his strength. He only needed to injure Zhao Li and cripple him.
Zhao Li's attention had always been partly focused on Gu You, the person he had never been able to see through.
The moment Gu You moved, he knew he was definitely not his opponent.
With a thought, Zhao Li mobilized the power of heaven and earth, condensing it onto his fists, and met Gu You's attack.
Puff—
A muffled sound spread, and Zhao Li flew backward.
Soon, he dispersed the immense force and his gaze became serious.
Being knocked back by a single palm strike, after stabilizing his body, Zhao Li was indeed a little surprised.
Only he himself knew that the means he had just used had almost pushed his current strength to the limit.
In two years, he had broken through and rebuilt his foundation, learned some of the Spirit Emperor's techniques, and his strength was immeasurably greater than before.
Zhao Li felt that even against a late-stage Dou Venerate, he could hold his own for a bit.
But after just one exchange, Zhao Li understood that the person before him far surpassed the peak of Dou Venerate.
He was likely already past Nine Star and on the path of Nine Revolutions to Sainthood, though he didn't know how far along he was.
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